The federal court ruled that Reckitt Benckiser made misleading claims with its Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain, and Nurofen Tension Headache products, The Guardian reports.
The products were marketed as though formulated to treat these different forms of pain, and cost about double the price of standard Nurofen. But each one contained the same active ingredient–342mg of ibuprofen lysine, which is equivalent to 200mg of ibuprofen.
The products must be removed from the shops within three months, per the court. The company faces a possible fine, and that will be determined at the next court hearing.
The ruling comes after legal action launched earlier this year by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The commission argued that although the generic ingredient was the same in all of the tablets, they were priced “significantly above that of other comparable analgesic products,” The Guardian reported.
For its part, Nurofen responded that the products were “designed to help the consumer easily navigate our range,” especially in supermarkets where there are no pharmacies, BBC News reports.
Dr. Aomesh Bhatt, regulatory and medical affairs director for Nurofen said that 9 out of 10 people seek pain relief for a specific kind of pain, like migraine or back pain, and seven in 10 said that pain-specific packs help them decide which product is best for them.
I’m assuming he said that with a straight face, although I don’t really know. So…even though every package has exactly the same amount of exactly the same ingredient, these people need help picking which package is right for them? They couldn’t just add all of those pain specifications on one package?
Oh that’s right, I forgot. This is the rarefied, alternate reality of advertising. Of course, what was I thinking?
Reckitt Benckiser said the case relates only to Australia, and added it will work with officials in the country “to ensure Nurofen packaging continues to be fully aligned with all guidelines and requirements.” But the company said the ruling wouldn’t apply to other countries, including the UK, where it sells Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache in caplets and Nurofen Express Period Pain in soft capsules, BBC News reported.
The ACCC reports that the court also ordered the company to publish corrective notices on websites and in newspapers. Reckitt Benckiser was also ordered to implement a consumer protection compliance program, and pay all of the ACCC’s costs. And an interim package arrangement has also been made, in which packaging will disclose to consumers that the products are equally effective for other types of pain.
This corporation is getting spanked, but it makes me wonder how many other pharmaceutical companies are playing this gambit?
It’s only our health and our wallets after all.
